The poem was based on the Karelian-Finnish folk epic songs (runes), which in the XVIII century. collected and processed by Elias Lönnrot.

Rune 1

Ilmatar, daughter of air, lived in the air. But soon she became bored in the sky, and she went down to the sea. The waves caught Ilmar, and from the waters of the sea the daughter of the air became pregnant.

Ilmatar bore the fruit for 700 years, but childbirth did not occur. She prayed to the supreme deity of heaven, the thunderer Ukko, so that he would help her get rid of the burden. After some time, a duck flew past, looking for a place for a nest. Ilmatar came to the aid of the duck: she framed her large knee. The duck made a nest on the daughter’s knee of the air and laid seven eggs: six gold, the seventh - iron. Ilmatar, moving her knee, dropped her eggs in the sea. The eggs broke, but did not disappear, but underwent a transformation:

Mother came out - the earth is damp;
From the egg, from the top,
I got a high vault of heaven
From the yolk, from the top,
The sun was bright;
From protein, from the top,
A clear month has appeared;
From the egg, from the motley part,
Stars have become in the sky;
From the egg, from the dark part
Clouds in the air appeared.

And time goes forward
Year after year, year after year
With the young sun shining
In the splendor of the month of the young.

Ilmatar, mother of waters, works of the virgin, sailed the sea for another nine years. In the tenth summer, she began to change the earth: with the movement of her hand she raised capes; where it touched the bottom of the foot, the depths extended there, where it lay sideways - there appeared a flat shore, where it bowed its head - bays formed. And the earth has taken its present form.

But the fruit of Ilmatar - the prophetic songwriter Väinämöinen - all was not born. For thirty years he wandered in the womb of his mother. Finally, he prayed to the sun, month, and stars to give him a way out of the womb. But the sun, the month and the stars did not help him. Then Väinämöinen began to make his way to the light:

He touched the fortress gate
Flicked a ring finger
He opened the bone castle
The small finger of the left leg;
On my hands creeps from the threshold
Kneeling through the canopy.
In the blue sea he fell
He grabbed the waves with his hands.

Väinö was born as an adult and spent another eight years at sea, until he finally got out to land.

Fleece 2

Väinämöinen lived for many years on bare, treeless land. Then he decided to equip the region. He called Väinämöinen Samps Pellerervoinen - a sower boy. Sampsa sowed the ground with grass, bushes and trees. The land was dressed in flowers and greenery, but only one oak tree could not ascend.

Four virgins came ashore from the sea. They mowed the grass and gathered it in a large stack. Then a monster — the Tursas hero (Iku-Turso) — rose from the sea and set fire to the hay. Väinämöinen put the acorn in the resulting ash and a huge oak grew from the acorn, obscuring the sky and the sun with its crown.

Väinö wondered who could cut this giant tree, but there wasn’t such a hero. The mother songwriter prayed that she would send him someone to dump the oak. And then a dwarf emerged from the water, grew into a giant, and from the third swing he cut down a wonderful oak. Whoever lifted its branch - forever found happiness, who the top - became a sorcerer, who cut its leaves - became cheerful and joyful. One of the slivers of a wonderful oak swam into Pohjolu. The Pohyoly girl took it to herself so that the sorcerer would make enchanted arrows out of her.

The earth bloomed, birds fluttered in the forest, but only the barley did not rise, the bread did not ripen. Väinämöinen went to the blue sea and found six grains at the water's edge. He picked up the grains and sowed them near the Kalevala River. The tit told the songwriter that the grains would not rise, since the land was not cleared for arable land. Väinämöinen cleared the land, cut down the forest, but left a birch in the middle of the field so that the birds could rest on it.The eagle praised Väinämöinen for his care and, as a reward, delivered fire to the cleared area. Väinö sowed the field, offering a prayer to the earth, Ukko (as the lord of the rain), so that they take care of the ears of corn, the harvest. Sprouts appeared on the field, and barley ripened.

Fleece 3

Väinämöinen lived in Kalevala, revealing his wisdom to the world, and sang songs about the affairs of times past, about the origin of things. Rumor has spread the news about the wisdom and power of Väinämöinen. These news were heard by Joukahainen - a resident of Pohyol. Jeukahainen envied the glory of Väinämöinen and, despite the persuasion of his parents, went to Kalevala in order to confound the songwriter. On the third day of the journey, Joukahainen collided with Väinämöinen on the road and challenged him to measure the strength of the songs and the depth of knowledge. Youkahainen began to sing about what he sees and what he knows. Väinämöinen answered him:

Childish mind, Indian wisdom
Not decent bearded
And married inappropriately.
You say things start
The depth of eternal deeds!

And then Joukahainen began to boast that it was he who created the sea, the earth, the stars. In response, the sage convicted him of a lie. Youkahainen challenged Väine to battle. The songwriter answered him with a song that shook the earth, and Joukahainen plunged to the waist into a swamp. He then prayed for mercy, promised a ransom: wonderful bows, fast boats, horses, gold and silver, bread from their fields. But Väinämöinen did not agree. Then, Joukahainen proposed to marry his sister, the beautiful Aino. Väinämöinen accepted this offer and released it. Youkahainen returned home and told his mother about what had happened. Mother was glad that the wise Väinämöinen would become her son-in-law. And Aino's sister began to cry and grieve. She was sorry to leave her homeland, to leave her freedom, to marry an old man.

Rune 4

Väinämöinen met Aino in the forest and made her an offer. Aino replied that she was not going to get married, and she returned home in tears and began to beg her mother not to give her to the old man. Mother persuaded Aino to stop crying, put on an elegant dress, jewelry and wait for the groom. Daughter, grieving, put on a dress, jewelry and in the determination to commit suicide went to the sea. On the seashore she left her clothes and went swimming. Having sailed to a rock cliff, Aino wanted to rest on it, but the cliff collapsed with the girl into the sea, and she drowned. The nimble hare delivered the sad news to the Aino family. Mother mourned the dead daughter for days and nights.

Rune 5

The news of the death of Aino reached Väinämöinen. In a dream, a saddened Väinämöinen saw that place in the sea where mermaids live, and found out that his bride was among them. He went there and caught a wonderful fish, unlike any other. Väinämöinen tried to cut this fish to prepare food, but the fish slipped out of the hands of the songwriter and told him that she was not a fish, but the maiden of the queen of the seas Vellamo and the king of the abyss Akhto, that she was the sister of Youkahainen, young Aino. She swam out of the deep sea to become Väinämöinen’s wife, but he didn’t recognize her, mistook her for fish and now missed her forever. The songwriter began to beg Aino to return, but the fish had already disappeared into the abyss. Väinämöinen threw the net into the sea and caught everything that is in it, but he did not catch that fish. Reproaching and scolding himself, Väinämöinen returned home. His mother, Ilmatar, advised him not to twist about the lost bride, but to go for a new one, in Pohjulu.

Rune 6

Väinämöinen went to the gloomy Pohjolu, foggy Sariola. But Joukahainen, with bitter anger at Väinämöinen, envious of his talent as a songwriter, decided to destroy the old man. He spurred him on the road. Seeing the wise Väinämöinen, the evil kid snuck fired and on the third attempt hit the horse. The song-maker fell into the sea, and with the waves and wind he carried him far from the earth. Youukahainen, thinking that he killed Väinämöinen, returned home and boasted to his mother that he had killed the old man Väinäin. Mother condemned the unreasonable son for a bad deed.

Fleece 7

For many days a songwriter sailed in the open sea, where a mighty eagle met him and him.Väinämöinen talked about how he got into the sea and the eagle, in gratitude for the fact that he left a birch in a field for birds to rest, offered his help. The eagle brought the songwriter to the shore of Pohyoly. Väinämöinen could not find his way home and wept bitterly, his maid heard his cry and told about this to Mrs. Louhi, mistress of Pohjela. Väinämöinen found Louhi, delivered him to her house and greeted him as a guest. Väinämöinen yearned for his native Kalevala and wanted to return home.

Louhi promised to marry Väinämöinen with her daughter and deliver him to Kalevala, in exchange for burying the wonderful Sampo mill. Väinämöinen said that he could not forge Sampo, but upon returning to Kalevala he would send the most skilled blacksmith in the world, Ilmarinen, who would make her the coveted miracle mill.

'Cause he forged the sky
He chained the roof of the air
So that there are no traces of shackles
And traces of ticks are not visible.

The old woman insisted that her daughter would receive only the one who forged Sampo. Nevertheless, she gathered Väinämöinen on the road, gave him a sled and ordered the songwriter not to look at the sky during the journey, otherwise an evil fate would befall him.

Fleece 8

On the way home, Väinämöinen heard a strange noise, as if someone was weaving in the sky, above his head.

The elder raised his head
And then he looked at the sky:
Here is an arc in the sky
A girl is sitting on an arc
Weaves golden clothes
Silver adorns everything.

Vyaino invited the girl to get off the rainbow, sit in his sled to him and go to Kalevala to become his wife there. Then the girl asked the songwriter to cut the hair with a blunt knife, tie an egg into a knot, grind a stone and cut out poles from ice, “so that pieces would not pour in, so that the dust particle would not fly off.” Only then will she sit in his sleigh. Väinämöinen fulfilled all her requests. But then the damsel asked to plow the boat "out of the debris of the spindle and lower it into the water without pushing it with its knee." Vainino set to work on the boat. The ax, with the participation of the evil Heixi, jumped off and plunged into the knee of the wise old man. Blood flowed from the wound. Väinämöinen tried to speak blood, heal the wound. The conspiracies did not help, the blood did not stop - the songwriter could not remember the birth of iron. And Väinämöinen began to look for someone who could speak a deep wound. In one of the villages, Väinämöinen found an old man who undertook to help the songwriter.

Rune 9

The old man said that he knows the cure for such wounds, but does not remember the beginning of iron, its birth. But Väinämöinen himself recalled this story and told it:

Air is the mother of everything
Big brother - called water
The younger brother of water is iron,
The middle brother is a hot fire.
Ukko, that supreme creator,
Elder Ukko, the god of heaven
Separated water from the sky
He shared water with land;
Only iron was not born
Not born, never sprouted ...

Then Ukko rubbed his hands, and three virgins appeared on his left knee. They went through the sky, milk flowed from their chest. Soft iron came out of the black milk of the older girl, steel came out of the white milk, and weak iron (cast iron) from the younger red one. Born iron wanted to see his older brother - fire. But the fire wanted to burn iron. Then it ran away in fright in the swamps and hid under the water.

Meanwhile, the blacksmith Ilmarinen was born. He was born at night, and already built a forge in the afternoon. The blacksmith was attracted by traces of iron on animal tracks, he wanted to put it on fire. Iron was afraid, but Ilmarinen reassured him, promised a miraculous transformation into different things and threw him into the furnace. Iron asked to be taken out of the fire. The blacksmith answered that iron could then become merciless and attack a person. Iron swore a terrible oath that he would never encroach on a person. Ilmarinen pulled iron out of the fire and forged various things from it.

In order for the iron to be strong, the blacksmith prepared a composition for hardening and asked the bee to bring honey to add it to the composition. The hornet also heard his request, he flew to his master, the evil Hiisi. Heishi gave the hornet poison, which he brought to Ilmarinen instead of the bee.The blacksmith, unaware of treason, added poison to the composition and hardened the iron in it. Iron came out of the fire evil, dropped all oaths and attacked people.

The old man, having heard the story of Väinämöinen, said that he now knew the beginning of iron, and proceeded to conjure a wound. Calling Ucco for help, he prepared a wonderful ointment and cured Väinämöinen.

Rune 10

Väinämöinen returned home, on the border of Kalevala cursed Joukahainen, because of which he ended up in Pohjelu and was forced to promise the blacksmith Ilmarinen to the old woman Louhi. On the way, he created a wonderful pine tree with a constellation at the top. At home, the songwriter began to persuade Ilmarinen to go to Pohyol for a beautiful wife who would go to the one who forged Sampo. The coiler asked if he was persuading him to go to Pohjelu to save himself, and categorically refused to go. Then Väinämöinen told Ilmarinen about the wonderful pine tree in the meadow and offered to go and look at this pine tree, remove the constellation from the top. The blacksmith simply climbed a tree, and Väinämöinen caused the wind to force the song and transported Ilmarinen to Pohjelu.

Louhi was met by a blacksmith, introduced to her daughter and asked to be constrained by Sampo. Ilmarinen agreed and set to work. Ilmarinen worked for four days, but other things came out of the fire: onions, shuttle, cow, plow. All of them had a “bad property,” all were “evil,” so Ilmarinen broke them and threw them back into the fire. Only on the seventh day did the wonderful Sampo come out of the flame of the hearth, the colorful cover spun.

The old woman Louhi was delighted, carried Sampo to Mount Pohjoly and buried there. In the land of a wonderful mill took three deep roots. Ilmarinen asked to give him the beautiful Pohjela, but the girl refused to go for the blacksmith. The sad forger returned home and told Väinö that Sampo was forged.

Rune 11

Lemminkäinen, a funny hunter, the hero of Kalevala, is good for everyone, but has one drawback - he is very fond of female charms. I heard Lemminkäinen about a beautiful girl who lived in Saari. The obstinate girl did not want to marry anyone. The hunter decided to get her. Mother discouraged her son from a rash act, but he did not obey and set off.

First, the Saari girls taunted the poor hunter. But over time, Lemminkäinen conquered all the Saari girls, except for one - Küllikki - the one for which he went on a journey. Then the hunter kidnapped Kullikki to take her as his wife to his poor house. Taking the girl away, the hero threatened: if the Saari girls tell who took Kullikki, he will find war and destroy all their husbands and guys. Küllikki at first resisted, but then agreed to become Lemminkäinen's wife and took an oath from him that he would never go to war on her native land. Lemminkäinen swore and took a vow from Kullikki that she would never go to her village and dance with the girls.

Rune 12

Lemminkäinen lived happily with his wife. Once a funny hunter went fishing and lingered, but in the meantime, without waiting for her husband, Kullikki went to the village to dance with the girls. Lemminkäinen's sister told her brother about the act of his wife. Lemminkäinen got angry, decided to leave Küllikki and go to get married with the girl Pohjela. The mother frightened the brave hunter with the sorcerers of the gloomy edge, said that there would be his death. But Lemminkäinen confidently replied that the Wizards of Pohyol were not afraid of him. Brushing his hair, he threw it on the floor with the words:

"Only then is evil misfortune
Lemminkäinen will comprehend
If the blood from the brush sprays,
If the red flows. ”

Lemminkäinen hit the road, in the meadow he offered a prayer to Ukko, Ilmatar and the gods of the forest, so that they would help him on a dangerous journey.

Nelaskovo met the hunter in Pohjol. In the village of Louhi, a hunter entered a house full of sorcerers and magicians. With his songs, he swore to all the Pohjoly men, robbed them of their strength and magical gift. He swore all but the lame old shepherd.When the shepherd asked the hero why he spared him, Lemminkäinen replied that he spared him only because the old man was so miserable, without any curses. The evil shepherd did not forgive Lemminkäinen and decided to watch the hunter by the waters of the dark Tuonela River - the river of the underworld, the river of the dead.

Rune 13

Lemminkäinen asked the old woman Louhi to give him his beautiful daughter. In response to the reproach of the old woman that he already has a wife, Lemminkäinen announced that he would drive Küllikki away. Louhi set the condition for the hunter that he would give his daughter back if the hero caught the Hiysi moose. The cheerful hunter said that he would easily catch an elk, but it was not so easy to find and catch it.

Rune 14

Lemminkäinen asked Ukko to help him catch elk. He also called on the forest king Tapio, his son Nyurikki and the forest queen Mielikki. The spirits of the forest helped the hunter catch the moose. Lemminkäinen brought the moose to the old woman Louha, but she set a new condition: the hero must bring her the Hiisi stallion. Lemminkäinen again asked Ukko the Thunderer for help. Ukko drove the stallion to the hunter with an iron hail. But the mistress of Pohyoly put a third condition: to shoot the Tuonela swan - a river in the underground kingdom of the dead. The hero went down to Manala, where an insidious shepherd was already waiting for him by the dark river. An evil old man snatched a snake from the waters of a gloomy river and pierced Lemminkäinen with a spear. A hunter poisoned by snake venom dies. And the kidnapper cut the body of poor Lemminkäinen into five pieces and threw them into the waters of Tuonela.

Rune 15

At Lemminkäinen’s house, blood began to ooze from the left brush. Mother realized that a misfortune happened to her son. She went to Pohjulyu for news of him. After persistent inquiries and threats, the old woman Louhi admitted that Lemminkäinen went for a swan to Tuonela. Going in search of her son, the poor mother asked the oak, the road, the month where the cheerful Lemminkäinen disappeared, but they did not want to help. Only the sun showed her the place of death of her son. The unfortunate old woman turned to Ilmarinen with a request to forge a huge rake. The sun lulled all the soldiers of the gloomy Tuonela, and in the meantime, Lemminkäinen's mother began to look for the body of her beloved son with a rake in the black waters of Manala. With incredible efforts, she caught the remains of the hero, connected them and turned to the bee with a request to bring some honey from the divine halls. She smeared the hunter's body with this honey. The hero came to life and told his mother how he was put to death. Mother persuaded Lemminkäinen to give up the idea of ​​Louha’s daughter and took him home to Kalevala.

Rune 16

Väinämöinen decided to make a boat and sent Samps Pellervojnen behind a tree. Aspen and pine did not fit for construction, but the mighty oak, nine fathoms in girth, completely fit. Väinämöinen “builds a boat with a spell, he knocks down a shuttle with a stump of pieces of a large oak tree”. But he did not have three words to launch the boat into the water. A wise songwriter set off in search of these treasured words, but could not find them anywhere. In search of these words he went down to the kingdom of Manala

There, the songwriter saw the daughter of Mana (god of the kingdom of the dead), who was sitting on the riverbank. Väinämöinen asked to give him a boat to cross to the other side and enter the kingdom of the dead. Mana’s daughter asked why he descended into their kingdom, safe and sound.

Väinämöinen shied away from the answer for a long time, but, in the end, admitted that he was looking for magic words for the boat. Mana's daughter warned the songwriter that few were returning from their land, and ferried her to the other side. There the mistress of Tuonela met him and brought up a mug of dead beer. Väinämöinen refused beer and asked him to reveal the treasured three words. The landlady said she did not know them, but still Väinämöinen would never be able to leave Mana's kingdom again. She plunged the hero into a deep sleep. In the meantime, the inhabitants of the gloomy Tuonela have prepared the barriers that should keep the songwriter. However, the wise Väinö went around all the set traps and ascended to the upper world.The songwriter turned to God with a request not to allow anyone to arbitrarily descend into the gloomy Manala and told how hard the evil people live in the kingdom of the dead, what kind of punishment they are waiting for.

Rune 17

Väinämöinen went to the giant Vipunen for magic words. He found Vipunen rooted in the ground, covered in forest. Väinämöinen tried to wake the giant, open his huge mouth, but Vipunen accidentally swallowed the hero. The songwriter arranged a forge in the giant’s womb and woke Vipunen with a thunder of hammer and heat. Tormented by pain, the giant ordered the hero to get out of the womb, but Väinämöinen refused to leave the giant’s body and promised to beat with a hammer harder:

If I don’t hear the words,
I do not recognize spells
I don’t remember the good ones here.
Words must not be hiding
No parables should be lurking
Must not burrow into the ground
And at the death of the sorcerers.

Vipunen sang the song “About Things of Origin”. Väinämöinen got out of the giant’s womb and completed his boat.

Rune 18

Väinämöinen decided on a new boat to go to Pohjelu and marry the daughter of Louhi. Ilmarinen’s sister, Annikki, went out to wash in the morning, saw the songwriter’s boat docking on the shore and asked the hero where he was going. Väinämöinen admitted that he was going to the gloomy Pohjule, misty Sariola to marry the beauty of the North. Annikki ran home, told everything to her brother, the blacksmith Ilmarinen. The forger was saddened and began to pack his way so as not to miss his bride.

So they rode: Väinämöinen by sea on a wonderful boat, Ilmarinen - by land, on horseback. After some time, the blacksmith caught up with Väinämöinen, and they agreed not to force the beauty to marry. May the one whom she herself chooses as her husband be happy. Less fortunate, though not angry. Grooms arrived at Louha’s house. Mistress Sariola advised her daughter to choose Väinämöinen, but she liked the young blacksmith more. Väinämöinen entered the house of Louha, and the beautiful Pohjela refused him.

Rune 19

Ilmarinen asked Louhi about his bride. Louhi replied that she would marry her daughter as a blacksmith if he plows the Hiisi snake field. Louha's daughter gave the blacksmith advice on how to plow this field, and the blacksmith completed this task. The evil old woman set a new condition: to catch a bear in Tuonel, to catch the gray wolf of Manala. The bride again gave the blacksmith advice, and he caught a bear and a wolf. But the mistress of Pohyoly again became stubborn: the wedding will be after the blacksmith in the waters of Manala catches a pike. The bride advised the blacksmith to forge an eagle, which will catch this fish. Ilmarinen did just that, but on the way back the iron eagle ate a pike, leaving only its head. Ilmarinen brought this head as evidence to the mistress of Pohjola. Resigned Louhi, gave her daughter in marriage to a blacksmith. And the saddened Väinämöinen went home, henceforth punishing the old grooms from now on never to compete with the young.

Rune 20

In Pohjol, a wedding feast is being prepared. In order to cook a treat, you need to roast a whole bull. They drove a bull: 100 horns of saplings, a squirrel from head to tail rides for a month, and there was no hero who could kill him. But then a hero rose from the waters of the sea with an iron fist and in one blow killed a huge bull.

The old woman Louhi did not know how to brew beer for the wedding. The old man on the stove told Louhi about the birth of hops, barley, about the first creation of Osmotar beer, the daughter of Kaleva. Learning about how beer is brewed, the hostess Sariola began its preparation. The forests thinned: they chopped wood for cooking, the springs dried up: they scooped up water for beer, he filled half-Pohyoly with smoke.

Louhi sent messengers to invite everyone to a magnificent wedding, all but Lemminkäinen. If Lemminkäinen comes, she will start a fight at the banquet, and he will raise the old men and women to laugh.

Rune 21

Louhi met the guests. I ordered the slave to better accept her son-in-law, to give him special honors. The guests sat at the table, began to eat, drink foamy beer.Old Väinämöinen raised his mug and asked the guests if anyone would sing a song “so that our day would be fun, that evening should be glorified?” But no one dared to sing with the wise Väinämöinen, then he himself began to sing, glorifying the young, wishing them a happy life.

Rune 22

The bride is being prepared for departure. They sang songs about her maiden life and about the unsweetened life of her wife in a strange house. The bride began to cry bitterly, but she was comforted.

Rune 23

The bride is taught and given advice on how she should live married. The old beggar woman spoke about her life as she was a girl, how she was married and how she left an evil husband.

Rune 24

Instructions are given to the groom, how he should treat the bride, they are not ordered to treat her badly. The beggarly old man told how he once reasoned his wife.

The bride said goodbye to everyone. Ilmarinen put the bride in a sled, hit the road and arrived home on the third day in the evening.

Rune 25

At home, Ilmarinen and his wife met the mother of the blacksmith Locke, gently spoke to her daughter-in-law, praised her in every possible way. The newlyweds and guests were seated at the table, treated to plenty. Väinämöinen praised his native land, his men and women, his master and mistress, matchmaker and bridesmaid, guests in his feast song. After the wedding feast, the songwriter went home. On the way, his sleigh broke, and the hero asked the locals if there would be such a daredevil who would go down to Tuonela for a gimlet to fix his sleigh. He was told that there is no such thing. Väinämöinen himself had to descend to Tuonela, after which he repaired the sled and safely got home.

Rune 26

Meanwhile, Lemminkäinen found out that they were having a wedding in Pohjöl, and decided to go there to avenge the insult. His mother dissuaded him from such a risky venture, but the hunter remained adamant. Then the mother spoke about the dangers that lie in wait for Lemminkäinen on the way to Pohjule, reproached that her son had forgotten about how he had already once died in that land of sorcerers. Lemminkäinen disobeyed and hit the road.

On the road Lemminkäinen met the first death - a fiery eagle. The hunter escaped by conjuring a flock of grouse. Further, the hero met with the second death - an abyss filled with hot blocks. The hunter turned to the supreme god Ukko, and he sent snowfall. Lemminkäinen by sorcery erected an ice bridge across the abyss. Then Lemminkäinen met with the third death - a ferocious bear and a wolf, on which, with the help of magic, he released a herd of sheep. At the very gates of Pohyoly the hunter met a huge snake. The hero enchanted her, uttering magic words and recalling the birth of a snake from the saliva of Xuetar (an evil aquatic creature) through Heixi's witchcraft, and the snake made the hunter clear of the road to Pohyol.

Rune 27

Having passed all the dangers, the cheerful Lemminkäinen arrived in Pohjelu, where he was met with awkward welcome. An angry hero began to scold the master and mistress for secretly celebrating the wedding of his daughter and now they are so hostile to meet him. The owner of Pohyol caused Lemminkäinen to compete in witchcraft and sorcery. The hunter won the match, then the keeper got him to fight with swords. Lemminkäinen won here too, he killed the owner of Pohjela and chopped off his head. Enraged, Louhi convened armed warriors to avenge the death of her husband.

Rune 28

Lemminkäinen hastily left Pohjelu and flew home in the form of an eagle. At home, he told his mother what had happened in Sariol, that the Louhi warriors were going to fight him, and asked where he could hide and wait for the invasion. Mother rebuked the violent hunter for going to Pohyolu, incurring such a danger, and offered to go to a small island across the seas for three years, where his father used to live during wars. But before, she took a terrible oath from a hunter not to fight for ten years. Lemminkäinen swore.

Rune 29

Lemminkäinen went to a small island. The locals greeted him.The sorcerer hunter charmed the local girls, seduced them and happily lived on the island for three years. The men of the island, angry at the frivolous behavior of the hunter, decided to kill him. Lemminkäinen found out about the conspiracy and fled from the island, about which the girls and women were bitterly sorry.

A strong storm at sea broke the hunter's boat, and he was forced to swim to the shore. On the shore Lemminkäinen got a new boat and sailed on it to their native shores. But there he saw that his house was burned, the area was deserted, and there was none of his kind. Here Lemminkäinen cried, began to reproach and scold himself for having gone to Pohjelu, incurring the wrath of the poofers, and now his whole family has died, and his beloved mother has been killed. Then the hero noticed a path leading to the forest. Passing through it, the hunter found a hut, and in it his old mother. Mother talked about how the people of Pohyol ruined their home. The hunter promised to build a new house, even better than before, and avenge Pohjole for all the troubles, talked about how he lived all these years on a distant island.

Rune 30

Lemminkäinen could not accept the fact that he had vowed not to fight for ten years. Again, he did not listen to the entreaties of his mother, again gathered for a war with Pohjela and invited his faithful friend Tiera with him on a campaign. Together they went on a campaign against the people of Sariola. The mistress of Pohyol sent a terrible frost on them, which froze Lemminkäinen’s boat in the sea. However, the hunter spelled frost away.

Lemminkäinen and his friend Tiera left the shuttle in the ice, and on foot reached the shore, where, saddened and depressed, roamed the wilderness until they finally returned home.

Rune 31

Two brothers lived: Untamo, the youngest, and Calervo, the older. Untamo did not love his brother, he built all sorts of intrigues. Enmity arose between the brothers. Untamo gathered the warriors and killed Calervo and his entire family, except for one pregnant woman whom Untamo took with him as a slave. The woman had a child, who is called Kullervo. Even in the cradle, the child promised to become a hero. Growing up Kullervo began to think about revenge.

Untamo, worried about this, decided to get rid of the baby. Kullervo was put in a barrel and thrown into the water, but the boy did not drown. He was found sitting on a barrel and fishing in the sea. Then they decided to throw the child into the fire, but the boy did not burn out. They decided to hang Kullervo on an oak tree, but on the third day he was found sitting on a bitch and drawing warriors on a tree bark. Untamo humbled himself and left the boy as his slave. When Kullervo grew up, they began to give him a job: to nurse a child, chopping wood, weaving wattle, and threshing rye. But Kullervo was good for nothing, he spoiled all the work: he tormented the child, chopped up a good timber, wattle plowed to the sky without entry and exit, turned the grain into dust. Then Untamo decided to sell the worthless slave to the blacksmith Ilmarinen:

The price was given by a great blacksmith:
He gave up two old boilers,
Rusty three iron hooks,
Kos heels he gave the worthless,
Six hoes bad, unnecessary
For the worthless kid
For a slave very bad.

Fleece 32

The wife of Ilmarinen, the daughter of the old woman Louhi appointed Kullervo as a shepherd. And for laughter and insult, the young mistress prepared bread for the shepherd: wheat top, oat bottom, and in the middle a stone was baked. Kullervo handed this bread and said that the shepherd should not eat it before he expels the flock into the forest. The hostess released the herd, cast a spell on him from misfortunes, summoning as assistants Ukko, Mielikki (the queen of the forest), Tellervo (daughter of the king of the forest) and begging them to protect the herd; she asked Otso - the bear, beauty with a honey paw - not to touch the herd, to bypass it.

Rune 33

Kullervo grazed the flock. In the afternoon, the shepherd sat down to rest and eat. He took out the bread baked by the young mistress and began to cut it with a knife:

And rested a knife on a stone
The blade in the naked bare;
At the knife, the blade fell apart
The blade fell apart.

Kullervo was upset: this knife was inherited from his father, this is the only memory of his family carved by Untamo. In a rage, Kullervo decided to take revenge on the mistress, the wife of Ilmarinen, for ridicule.The shepherd drove the herd into the swamp and wild animals devoured the whole cattle. Kullervo turned the bears into cows, and the wolves into calves and, under the guise of a herd, drove them home. On the way, he ordered them to tear the hostess to pieces: "She will only look at you, she will bend over to milk!" The young mistress, seeing the herd, asked Ilmarinen's mother to go and milk the cows, but Kullervo, reproaching her, said that the good mistress milks the cows herself. Then Ilmarinen’s wife went to the stable, and the bears and wolves tore her to shreds.

Fleece 34

Kullervo fled from the blacksmith's house and decided to avenge Untamo for all insults, for the harassment of the Kalervo clan. But in the forest, a shepherd met an old woman who told him that Calervo, his father, was actually alive. She suggested how to find him. Kullervo went in search and found his family on the border of Lapland. The mother met her son with tears, said that she considered him missing, as did the eldest daughter, who had gone by the berries, but never returned.

Fleece 35

Kullervo remained to live in the parental home. But there was no use for his heroic power. Everything that the shepherd did was useless, spoiled. And then the distressed father sent Kullervo to the city, to pay a fee. On the way back, Kullervo met the girl, lured gifts in his sleigh and seduced her. It turned out that this girl is the same missing sister of Kullervo. In desperation, the girl rushed into the river. And Kullervo went home in grief, told his mother about what had happened and decided to commit suicide. Mother forbade him to part with his life, began to persuade him to leave, find a quiet corner and quietly live his life there. Kullervo did not agree, he was going to avenge Untamo for everything.

Fleece 36

Mother dissuaded her son from doing a rash act. Kullervo was adamant, especially since all his relatives cursed him. One mother was not indifferent to what would happen to her son. While Kullervo fought, he heard news of the death of his father, brother and sister, but he did not cry for them. Only when the news came of the death of his mother did the shepherd cry. Arriving in the Untamo clan, Kullervo exterminated both women and men, ravaged them at home. Returning to his land, Kullervo did not find any of his relatives, everyone died and the house was empty. Then the unfortunate shepherd went into the forest and lost his life, throwing himself on a sword.

Fleece 37

At this time, the blacksmith Ilmarinen mourned his dead mistress and decided to shackle his new wife. With great difficulty, he forged a damsel from gold and silver:

He forged, not sleeping, at night,
Forged day without stopping.
Feet made her hands,
But the leg cannot go
And the hand does not hug.
He forges the girl’s ears
But they cannot hear.
He skillfully made a mouth
And her eyes are alive
But the mouth remained without words
And eyes without a sparkle of feeling.

When the blacksmith went to bed with his new wife, that side with which he was in contact with the statue, completely icy. After ascertaining the unsuitability of the golden wife, Ilmarinen offered her as a wife to Väinämöinen. The songwriter refused and advised the blacksmith to throw the precious girl into the fire and forge a lot of necessary things from gold and silver, or take her to other countries and give it to the gold-hungry grooms. Väinämöinen forbade future generations to bow before gold.

Fleece 38

Ilmarinen went to Pohjulu to marry the sister of his former wife, however, in response to his proposal, he only heard abuse and reproaches. An angry blacksmith kidnapped the girl. On the way, the girl treated the forger disparagingly, humiliating him in every possible way. The furious Ilmarinen turned the evil girl into a seagull.

The sad blacksmith returned home with nothing. In response to the inquiries, Väinämöinen told how he was driven out in Pohjöl and how the land of Sariola flourishes because there is a Sampo magic mill.

Fleece 39

Väinämöinen invited Ilmarinen to go to Pohjela, to take the Sampo mill from the owner of Sariola. The blacksmith replied that it was very difficult to get Sampo, the evil Louhi hid it in a rock, and the miracle mill has three roots that have grown into the ground.But the forger agreed to go to Pohjolu, he forged a wonderful fire blade for Väinämöinen. Going on the road, Väinämöinen heard a cry. It was a boat crying that missed the deeds. Väinämöinen promised the boat to take her on a trip. With spells, the singer launched the shuttle into the water, Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen himself, their squad and sailed to Sariola. Driving past the home of the cheerful hunter Lemminkäinen, the heroes took it with them and together went to save Sampo from the hands of the evil Louha.

Fleece 40

A boat with heroes swam to a lonely cape. Lemminkäinen cursed the river flows so that they would not break the boat, nor harm the soldiers. He appealed to Ukko, Qiwi-Kimmo (the deity of pitfalls), the son of Kammo (the deity of horror), Melatar (the goddess of turbulent currents), with a request not to harm their boat. Suddenly the boat of heroes stopped, no effort could move her from her place. It turned out that the shuttle was held by a huge pike. Väinämöinen, Ilmarinen and the squad caught a wonderful pike and set off further. On the way, the fish was cooked and eaten. From fish bones, Väinämöinen made himself a kantele - a musical instrument of the gusli kind. But there was no real craftsman on earth to play the kantele.

Rune 41

Väinämöinen began to play the kantele. The daughters of creation, the maidens of the air, the daughter of the moon and the sun, Ahto, mistress of the sea, gathered to listen to his wonderful game. Tears appeared in front of the listeners and Väinämöinen himself, his tears fell into the sea and turned into blue pearls of fabulous beauty.

Rune 42

The heroes arrived in Pohjolu. The old woman Louhi asked why the heroes came to this land. The heroes replied that they had come for Sampo. They proposed to divide the miracle mill. Louhi refused. Then Väinämöinen warned that if the people of Kalevala did not receive half, then they would take everything by force. The mistress of Pohyoly convened all her warriors against the heroes of Kalevala. But the prophetic songwriter took the kantele, began to play on it and enchanted the poofers with his game, plunged them into a dream.

The heroes went in search of the mill and found it in the rock behind the iron doors with nine locks and ten bolts. Väinämöinen opened the gate with spells. Ilmarinen oiled the hinges so that the gates would not creak. However, even the bouncer Lemminkäinen could not raise Sampo. Only with the help of a bull Kalevala people were able to plow the roots of Sampo and transfer it to the ship.

The heroes decided to transport the mill to a distant island "unscathed and calm and not visited with a sword." On his way home, Lemminkäinen wanted to sing in order to pass the road. Väinämöinen warned him that it was not the time to sing. Lemminkäinen, not listening to wise advice, began to sing in a bad voice, and woke the crane with loud noises. The crane, frightened by the terrible singing, flew to the North and woke the inhabitants of Pohyoly.

Finding Sampo missing, the old woman Louhi was terribly angry. She guessed who stole her treasure, and where he was being taken. She asked Udutar (the maiden of the fog) to send fog and haze to the abductors, the monster Iku-Turso - to drown the Kalevalians in the sea, to return Sampo to Pohjule, Ukko she asked to raise a storm to delay their boat, until she herself catches them and takes away her jewel. Väinämöinen miraculously got rid of the fog, spells from Iku-Turso, but a raging storm took away a wonderful kantele of pike bones. Väinämöinen grieved for the loss.

Rune 43

Evil Louhi sent Pohjela warriors to chase after the Sampo kidnappers. When the ship of the Hohlins caught up with the fugitives, Väinämöinen took a piece of flint from the bag and cast it with spells into the water, where it turned into rock. Pohyoly's boat crashed, but Louhi turned into a terrible bird:

Old braid heels brings,
Six hoes long unnecessary:
They serve her like fingers
They are like a handful of claws, compresses,
Suddenly a half-boat picked up:
Tied under the knee;
And the sides to the shoulders are like wings,
The steering wheel has worn itself like a tail;
One hundred husbands sat on the wings,
A thousand sat on the tail
A hundred swordsmen sat down
A thousand brave shooters.
Loafed her wings
Eagle rose in the air.
Wings flap in height
Väinämöinen after:
Beats one wing on a cloud
On water drags another.

The mother of water, Ilmatar, warned Väinämöinen about the approach of a monstrous bird. When Louhi overtook the Kalevala boat, the wise songwriter again proposed the sorceress to fairly divide Sampo. The mistress of Pohyoly again refused, grabbed the mill with her claws and tried to pull her from the boat. The heroes attacked Louhi, trying to prevent. However, with one finger, the Louhi bird still clung to the wonderful mill, but could not hold it, dropped it into the sea and smashed it.

Large fragments of the mill have sunk into the sea, and therefore there are so many riches in the sea that will not be transferred forever. Small fragments stream and waves washed ashore. Väinämöinen collected these fragments and planted them in Kalevala so that the region was rich.

And the wicked mistress of Pohyoly, who only got the colorful cover from the miracle mill (which caused poverty in Sariol), began to threaten in retaliation to steal the sun and the month, hide them in the rock, freeze all seedlings with frost, beat the crops with hail, send the bear out of the forest herds of Kalevala, let plague on people. However, Väinämöinen replied that with the help of Ukko, he would take her evil spell away from his land.

Fleece 44

Väinämöinen went to the sea to look for a kantele of pike bones, but in spite of all efforts he did not find it. Sad Väinö returned home and heard a birch crying in the forest. The birch complained about how hard it was for her: in the spring, her bark was cut to pick up juice, the girls knitted brooms from her branches, the shepherd weaved bodies and scabbards from her bark. Väinämöinen comforted the birch and made it a kantele, better than before. The songwriter made nails and pegs for the kantele from cuckoo singing, strings from the girl’s delicate hair. When the kantele was ready, Väinö began to play, and the whole world listened to his game with admiration.

Fleece 45

Louhi, who had heard rumors about the prosperity of Kalevala, envied her prosperity and decided to send pestilence to the people of Kaleva. At this time, pregnant Lovyatar (goddess, mother of diseases) came to Louhi. Louhi took Lovyatar and helped to give birth. Lovyatar gave birth to 9 sons - all sickness and adversity. The old woman Louhi sent them to the people of Kaleva. However, Väinämöinen spells and ointments delivered his people from ailments and death.

Rune 46

The old woman Louhi learned that in Kalevala she was cured of the diseases she had sent. Then she decided to set a bear on herds of Kaleva. Väinämöinen asked the forger Ilmarinen to forge a spear and went hunting for a bear - Otso, a small apple, a beauty with a honey paw.

Väinämöinen sang a song in which he asked the bear to hide his claws and not threaten him, convinced the bear that he did not kill him - the bear himself fell from the tree and tore his skin-clothes and turned to the beast, as if inviting him to visit.

A feast was held in the village on the occasion of a successful hunt, and Väinö told how the gods and goddesses of the forest helped him in hunting a bear.

Rune 47

Väinämöinen played the kantele. The sun and the month, hearing a wonderful game, went down lower. The old woman Louhi grabbed them, hid them in a rock and stole the fire from the centers of Kaleva. A cold hopeless night descended on Kalevala. Even in heaven, in the dwelling of Ukko, darkness fell. People yearned, Ukko became worried, left his house, but could not find the sun or the moon. Then the thunderbolt carved a spark, hid it in a pouch, and a pouch in a casket and gave this casket to an air maiden, "so that the new month grows, the sun appears new." The virgin began to cradle the heavenly fire in the cradle, nursing him in her arms. Suddenly the fire fell from the hands of the nanny, flew nine heavens and fell to the ground.

Väinämöinen, seeing the fall of the spark, said to the forger Ilmarinen: “Let's see what kind of fire fell to the ground!”, And the heroes went in search of heavenly fire. On the way, they met Ilmatar, and she said that on earth, heavenly fire, the spark of Ukko, burns everything in its path. She burned Turi's house, burned fields, swamps, and then fell into Lake Alué. But even in the lake the heavenly fire did not go out.The lake was boiling for a long time, and the lake fish began to think how to get rid of the evil fire. Then the whitefish consumed Ukko's spark. The lake calmed down, but the whitefish began to suffer from pain. Pestrus regretted the whitefish and swallowed it with a spark, and also began to suffer from an unbearable burning sensation. The pike was swallowed by a gray pike, and heat, too, began to pester her. Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen came to the shore of Lake Alue and threw nets to catch a gray pike. The women of Kalevala helped them, but there is no gray pike in the nets. The second time they threw the nets, now men helped them, but there was no gray pike in the nets again.

Fleece 48

Väinämöinen weaved a giant net from flax. Together with Ilmarinen, with the help of Vellamo (the sea queen) and Ahto (the sea king), who sent the sea hero, they finally catch a gray pike. The son of the sun, helping the heroes, cut the pike and took out a spark from it. But the spark slipped out of the hands of the son of the Sun, singed the beard of Väinämöinen, burned the hands and cheeks of the blacksmith Ilmarinen, ran through the forests and fields, burned half-Pohjoly. However, the songwriter caught the fire, enchanted it and brought it to the dwellings of Kaleva. Ilmarinen suffered from burns of magic fire, but, knowing the spells against burns, he recovered.

Fleece 49

There was already fire in the dwellings of Kaleva, but there was no sun and month in heaven. Residents asked Ilmarinen to forge new luminaries. Ilmarinen set to work, but a wise songwriter tells him that:

You have taken the trouble in vain!
Gold will not become a month
Silver will not be the sun!

Despite this, Ilmarinen continued his work, he raised the new sun and month on high spruce trees. But the precious luminaries did not shine. Then Väinämöinen began to find out where the real sun and the month had gone, and found out that they were stolen by the old woman Louhi. Väinö went to Pohyolu, where its inhabitants met him disrespectfully. The songwriter entered the battle with the men of Sariola and won. He wanted to see the heavenly bodies, but the heavy doors of the dungeon did not yield. Väinö returned home and asked the forger Ilmarinen to forge weapons with which to open the rock. Ilmarinen set to work.

Meanwhile, the mistress of Pohyoly, turning into a hawk, flew to Kaleva, to the house of Ilmarinen, and found out that the heroes were preparing for war, that an evil fate awaited her. In fear, she returned to Sariola and released the sun and month from prison. Then, in the image of a dove, she told the blacksmith that she was again shining in her places. The blacksmith, rejoicing, showed Väinämöinen the star. Väinämöinen welcomed them and wished that they always adorn the sky and bring happiness to people.

Fleece 50

Girl Maryatta, the daughter of one of Kalevala's husbands, became pregnant from the eaten lingonberry. Mother and father kicked her out of the house. The servant of Maryatta went to the evil man Ruotus, asking him to shelter the poor thing. Ruotus and his wicked wife settled Maryatta in a stable. In that stable, Maryatta gave birth to a son. Suddenly the boy disappeared. The poor mother went in search of her son. She asked a star and a month about her son, but they did not answer her. Then she turned to the Sun, and the Sun said that her son was stuck in a swamp. Maryatta saved her son and brought him home.

The villagers wanted to christen the boy and called the old man Virokannasa. Väinämöinen also came. The songwriter suggested killing a child born from a berry. The child began to rebuke the old man for an unjust sentence, recalled his own sins (the death of Aino). Virokannas christened the baby king Karjala. Angry Väinämöinen created a copper shuttle for himself with a magic song and swam away from Kalevala forever “to where the earth and the sky come together”.